there are many ways, many tools, and many "ideas". this is how i make a typical fixed blade knife.
jclarke had contacted me to make him a knife. he really, really likes his Waldon styled knife, so we went from there. the knife is similiar to a Kabar, i suppose. lord knows how i feel about Kabar!
... we worked on some modifications... to make the knife better, IMO.... and came to settle on the mock up you see in the first few pictures.
a stick of 154cm. i was going to use D2 but some mystery person sent this to me! much more like i wanted to use!
lay out.
drill out the profile. yes, i have two bandsaws. yes, i could saw the entire profile. but for me, this is how i like to do it.
friction cut.
off to the grinder.
grindin! shutter speed on the camera makes the belt look still...... but it was humming along at about 3400rpms....... way to fast for making knives!! hahaha!!
i did the handle first to give me something more comfortable to hang on to.
profile done.
time for the thumb serrations! dremel to the rescue!!!!! ah, ****. broke it on the first one! THIS is where knife making gets interesting! back to old school. chainsaw file.
looking close. i leave extra material all over the knife, because after heat treat, you grind some more off.
laying out the corby bolt holes.
i drill extra holes for a list of reasons. for weight saving, for balance, for epoxy hold, and a few others. i did it on THIS knife for the epoxy hold.
the result, before heat treating (which i out source to professional heat treaters because it is the MOST important part of making a knife). turned out great. thumb grooves are perfect, and size is good.
i will update this thread, as work progresses. it is now ready for heat treat. you can grind the bevels before heat treat. some do, some don't. i used to do it before HT, but now i don't. its all personal prefence. you can also layout your scales, and drill them to fit. that way while your knife is away being treated, you can work the scales. again, i don't do it that way, but some do.
time to find some spare change in the couch and send this dog in to HT!
jclarke had contacted me to make him a knife. he really, really likes his Waldon styled knife, so we went from there. the knife is similiar to a Kabar, i suppose. lord knows how i feel about Kabar!
... we worked on some modifications... to make the knife better, IMO.... and came to settle on the mock up you see in the first few pictures.a stick of 154cm. i was going to use D2 but some mystery person sent this to me! much more like i wanted to use!
lay out.
drill out the profile. yes, i have two bandsaws. yes, i could saw the entire profile. but for me, this is how i like to do it.
friction cut.
off to the grinder.
grindin! shutter speed on the camera makes the belt look still...... but it was humming along at about 3400rpms....... way to fast for making knives!! hahaha!!
i did the handle first to give me something more comfortable to hang on to.
profile done.
time for the thumb serrations! dremel to the rescue!!!!! ah, ****. broke it on the first one! THIS is where knife making gets interesting! back to old school. chainsaw file.
looking close. i leave extra material all over the knife, because after heat treat, you grind some more off.
laying out the corby bolt holes.
i drill extra holes for a list of reasons. for weight saving, for balance, for epoxy hold, and a few others. i did it on THIS knife for the epoxy hold.
the result, before heat treating (which i out source to professional heat treaters because it is the MOST important part of making a knife). turned out great. thumb grooves are perfect, and size is good.
i will update this thread, as work progresses. it is now ready for heat treat. you can grind the bevels before heat treat. some do, some don't. i used to do it before HT, but now i don't. its all personal prefence. you can also layout your scales, and drill them to fit. that way while your knife is away being treated, you can work the scales. again, i don't do it that way, but some do.
time to find some spare change in the couch and send this dog in to HT!
